A "Significant" Birthday

The planning for this weekend has been in the works for months, and it's hard to believe that it has come and gone.  My mom was celebrating a "significant" birthday this week, and she wanted to celebrate in Atlanta so Elizabeth could be part of the fun.  Mimi, Grandpa, Aunt Nancy, Uncle Doug, Peter and Lindsey all arrived on Friday.  Elizabeth had to be held back each time someone pulled in to our driveway because she couldn't wait to welcome everyone with hugs and kisses.  On Saturday, we started the day with brunch in Vinings.  The ladies (other than ESB) headed off for shopping and mani/pedis while the guys (plus ESB) made their way downtown to check out the World of Coca Cola and Centennial Park.  The main event of the weekend was our dinner at Bacchanalia.  This restaurant has been rated the best in Atlanta every year since I have lived here and it did not disappoint.  We had a beautiful, private table and enjoyed an incredible five course meal that lasted over three hours.

Mimi, Grandpa, Aunt Nancy and Uncle Doug left for the airport early Sunday morning, but Peter and Lindsey had a later flight so we played in the morning and went out for lunch before it was time to leave.  Elizabeth had so much fun with her family and we were so glad to host everyone here.

Pre-dinner photo

Miss Savannah and ESB

World of Coca Cola

This Week

Following up on last week's post about Elizabeth's crazy behavior, I am happy to say that Elizabeth was an angel at home this week.  Her behavior at school continues to leave something to be desired.  She had International Day at school on Thursday, which included a parade and tasting room.  Preschool B represented Vietnam.  John and I missed the parade, but a friend sent us a photo:

John took Elizabeth for a haircut on Saturday morning while I ran errands.  Her bangs are almost fully grown out now, marking the end of a long project. 

On Saturday afternoon, Elizabeth played with the Comeaux kids (all four of them, now that three week-old Madeline is here) and had a great time.  Ellen Comeaux did us a huge favor by watching Elizabeth for a few hours when our babysitter called in sick.  We laughed when Ellen said, with four kids running around, what's one more?  She truly is a saint.  Elizabeth was totally exhausted when we got home, which is always the sign of a successful play date.  Here is Elizabeth with Baby Madeline:

Lego Party

Saturday was Ella's Lego party.  Ella and Elizabeth are good friends and are now in the same classroom at school.  The party started off with a Lego building activity and then everyone had pizza and cupcakes.  Elizabeth had a great time until the very end, when we escorted her out in the midst of one of her oh-so-common tantrums.  I don't know why we didn't hear about this whole "three years old is worse than two" thing before now, but apparently it is a generally accepted principle and Elizabeth is no exception.

To demonstrate how many times we are having the same conversation with Elizabeth these days, I overheard her playing with her baby doll today, telling her "I love you but you got to listen to me."  At least she's hearing us, right?  Please send any and all parenting advice ASAP!

We don't have much else to report from the weekend.  John taught Elizabeth about hopscotch this morning.  She gets the counting part, but hopping on one foot proved more challenging, as did hopping and counting at the same time.   On the other hand, I'm not too concerned about Elizabeth's hand-eye coordination.  She hit a ball off the tee clear across our backyard on Friday night - you go, girl!

Birthdays

Every weekly post this month could start with the same line "This weekend, we went to a birthday party for one of Elizabeth's classmates."  The kids in Elizabeth's class all have late summer/early fall birthdays, and the birthday party invitations have been abundant.  We missed two parties last weekend while we were in Dallas, but we have a party every weekend for the rest of September.  This week's party was quite a large gathering.  The parents hired a music class teacher to come teach a class to all of the kids.  Elizabeth had a great time dancing and singing with all of her friends.

For the most part, the weekend was very relaxing.  I had a girls' night out on Friday and most of Saturday afternoon and evening was spent watching football.  Sunday was our most beautiful fall day yet, so we did errands, went out to lunch, and played outside.

At the birthday party

Geaux Tigers!

Tricycle ride with Snugglebunny

Snugglebunny wants to ride by himself

Dallas 2012

For the second Labor Day weekend in a row, we traveled to Dallas for a football game and a visit with the Dallas Browns.  Michigan played Alabama at Cowboys Stadium, and even though the game was a big disappointment, we still had a great weekend with Uncle Hugh, Aunt Sarah, Jack and William.

Pre-game excitement:

At the game:

Cousins:

JFK Museum: